Mission Critical/transcripts
"Why we fight" :(the voice over of the "why we fight" briefing cutscene that offers some background information. It is seen when you use the VR system in the mess hall; it can't be heard again after you pull its cables to solve a puzzle) We are all familiar with the short version of the events that led to this terrible war. During the second half of the twenty-first century, the leaders of the world's governments got a glimpse of the shape of things to come. They were afraid of what they saw. Their reaction was to deny the inevitable, slamming the breaks on all technological progress. In 2082 a group of states led by the United States, Canada, Australia and Japan decided that the cure was worse than the disease. The UN power structure reacted violently to the rebellion. States participating in the rebel campaign were targeted for brutal suppression by UN Enforcement. Signators to the Singapore Treaty formed the Alliance of Free States and announced their secession from the United Nations. They were joined by every major planetary colony settlement and orbital habitat. In 2085, large scale armed conflict returned to Earth for the first time in a hundred years. The UN immediately invaded the territory of the seceding nations on Earth. UN hovertanks, troops and ground support aircraft clashed with new Alliance military units made up of men and women from Alliance states who defected from UN control. The war ground to a halt in less than two months as both sides ran out of soldiers, weapons and materiel. The Alliance states managed to hang onto their home territories. An uneasy truce was negotiated between the UN and the Alliance, and the world entered an uneasy period known as the New Cold War. In 2111 the UN attacked again, and war returned on an interplanetary scale. Population centers on Earth and the colonies were bombarded from space by particle beam weapons. Armies fought tank battles supported by buzzing swarms of aircraft. Starships battled each other over asteroid mines, orbital habitats and planetary installations. The furious pace of the war once again chewed up the stocks of men and materiel in a matter of months. This time, there was no truce. In spite of economic exhaustion, the two sides continued to fight a war of attrition, a war that has since lasted more than twenty years, and shows no signs of ending. The war has continued despite the price paid by both sides, because all of the combatants are convinced that they are on the right side. The UN firmly believes that unchecked technological development will kill off the human race. The Alliance states are just as firm in their convictions that death is better than life without freedom, and without forward progress. Lexington orientation Orientation Welcome to the USS Lexington Orientation The US Congress authorized the development of a new class of warships in 2109 as Νew Cold War tensions between Alliance states and the United Nations escalated. These ships were designated as light cruisers, Bunker Hill-class, and were designed to be fast, lightly armored, and heavily armed. The USS Lexiνgton is one of 9 Bunker Hill light cruisers built between 2111 and 2127. During the first half of 2133 the Lexington was the first Bunker Hill class ship to undergo an extensive modernization at the McHenry yards around Starhome. She was equipped with brand new weapon systems, an improved interplanetary drive, a new computer system, and an upgraded communications system. The Lexington is equipped with 3 propulsion systems. * The first propulsion system is the Orbital Maneuvering System, or OMS. The OMS consists of several chemical reaction thrusters for use when in orbit, or when maneuvering in close proximity to other ships. * The second propulsion system is the interplanetary drive, used for travel inside a star system. Four deuterium-tritium fusion pulse drive engines are fed by a linear accelerator that runs down the spine of the ship from fuel tanks mounted near the bow. A continuous stream of microscopic deuterium-tritium fuel pellets is accelerated into the four thrust chambers, with magnetic containment at the stern of the ship. High energy lasers bombard the fuel pellets and create a fusion reaction by implosion. Thrust is channeled backwards. A fraction of the resulting energy is fed back into large capacitors which are used to fire the lasers for the next explosion. The interplanetary drive can produce and maintain a constant acceleration of up to 6 gravities for extended periods. Large radiator fins on the outside of the ship help to regulate temperature. * The third propulsion system is the Tal-Seto Faster Than Light jump drive, located on the boom forward of the bow. The jump drive allows instantaneous travel along threads of spacetime deformation that exist between the Tal-Seto jump points found in many star systems. A conventional liquid-cooled nuclear reactor is mounted forward of the engineering compartments of the ship, used to charge the capacitors for the infusion of the fusion engines and provide power for the linear accelerator, life support, and all of the ship's electrical system. The Lexington's principal weapons system is a complement of 18 Lockheed-Martin RC09 Basilisk Multimission Autonomous Strike Craft, also known as "battle drones". Up to 9 of the 18 drones can be active at one time. The drones are deployed using rotary launchers mounted in 3 weapon bays. These bays are arrayed in an equilateral triangle around the core of the ship. Each drone is capable of carrying several types of ordnance mounted on standard hardpoints on the dorsal and ventral surfaces. Drone weapons include antiship missiles, torpedoes, particle beam guns, railgun cannons, and lasers. A Basilisk drone with a full combat ordnance load is capable of accelerating at 100 gravities. The Lexington is also armed with a Close-In Combat System, or CICS, which serves as a weapon system of last resort if any enemy drones or long range weapons penetrate the defensive screen of Basilisk drones. The CICS consists of 8 missile launchers, 2 railgun turrets, and several chaff ejectors mounted on various points of Lexington's outer hull. The Lexington's standard crew complement is 20. Her maximum complement is 25. The crew is housed in the habitat module of the Lexington, a large rectangle structure mounted well forward of the reactor and fusion engines. The Habitat Module includes the bridge, crew quarters, communication center, medical and science labs, mess hall, computer center and storage areas. With a combination of speed, range, and firepower, the USS Lexington is able to project Alliance military strength out to the furthest star systems. She has proven herself in combat, and has a distinguished service record built over a period of years. Yet she also has some of the newest and best technology available. Veteran officers and enlisted personnel vie for the privilege of serving on the Lexington and contributing to the continuing story of one of the most capable ships in the Alliance Fleet. Category:trascripts Category:Mission Critical